Check our new 2019 guide for authentic Faroese cuisine: Best Restaurants in Tórshavn

The food at Áarstova is as authentic as its location in the old part of Tórshavn. This dinner restaurant is open from 6 PM every day and serves traditional Faroese cuisine, specializing in lamb and seafood dishes such as salmon and cod. Options are usually offered as 3 or 5 course menus but in the summertime, you can also enjoy a light meal outside surrounded by turf-roofed houses and sea view.

Barbara Fish House shares its name with one of the most famous characters in Faroese literature, Jørgen Franz Jacobsen’s Barbara. Today, the restaurant offers a great way to try many different Faroese dishes served in tapas size portions. You can select a la carte or ask for the chef’s choice.

The Fútastova building was built over 300 years ago to house the representative of the Danish King. It has since housed a variety of shops before turning into a restaurant. The tasty dishes at Fútastova are as classic as the building with lots of focus on lamb, fish and shellfish.

Ræst is as traditionally Faroese as it is exotic for most foreign visitors. Fermented fish and fermented lamb are among the popular dishes made here along with pilot whale and blubber. Ræst is the only restaurant outside of Japan that serves exclusively fermented dishes.

Frumbiti is a modern restaurant that serves a mix of traditional Faroese food and more modern seasonal options. Try the Faroese version of your favourite fish dish, lamb or even Frumbiti’s vegetarian options.

Restaurant Gras is the in-house restaurant at Hotel Føroyar but is open not only to guests staying at the hotel. Gras is the Faroese word for “grass,” named after it’s stunning green surroundings and traditional grass roof.

Etika is the only sushi restaurant in the Faroe Islands. On the menu is both traditional Japanese-style sushi as well as combinations of Japanese and Faroese cuisines including the delicious lamb wraps.

This grill house offers a wide variety of dinner options, both Faroese and international. The dishes are as varied as Faroese dry-aged lamb and Argentinian tenderloin steak with an equally varied drinks menu of cocktails, wine and beer. You can even buy a cigar to enjoy on the terrace.

Restaurant Hafnia is the more formal dining option at Hotel Hafnia. This restaurant is particularly busy in the summer. On Tuesday evenings, Restaurant Hafnia serves a seafood buffet with an exciting assortment of fish, shellfish and desserts. It is also a popular brunch option.

Gastronomy and Food in the Faroe Islands

Tórshavn is one of the world’s smallest capitals but the cuisine is exquisite and in some cases, quite international. It even has a restaurant with two Michelin stars, Koks.

Lamb and fish are two of the most important ingredients in traditional Faroese cuisine. However, the restaurants in Tórshavn and the rest of the Faroese Islands cook them in a wide variety of ways, creating many different flavours from the same meats. Most famously are the different types of fermentation. Other Faroese specialties include whale meat and blubber.

Types of Foods

The Faroe Islands are famous for its fermentation of especially lamb and fish. But even within fermentation, different methods create different flavours. Most popular are air drying, brine and maturing.

There are also different types of food for the different seasons. Some typical summer foods are cod heads and stuffed puffin while popular winter eats include whale meat and blubber as well as skerpikjøt.

Skerpikjøt

When it comes to Faroese cuisine, “skerpikjøt” is about as Faroese as it gets. Skerpikjøt is a type of wind-dried mutton, usually from the shank or leg. It hangs to dry in a hjallur, a drying shed for five to nine months. When the skerpikjøt is ready, it’s cut into think slices and typically served on rye bread open sandwiches.

Salmon

Locals eat lots of haddock, plaice, herring, halibut and shrimp but salmon, too, represents a popular fish on the islands. The restaurants in the Faroe Islands serve salmon grilled, smoked, grilled and smoked, fermented and even as sushi.

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